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Fine for Suffolk restaurant for food hygiene offences

A restaurant in Stowmarket in Suffolk has been fined £15,000 after food and safety officers from the local council uncovered a number of serious food hygiene issues.

The problems at the Saffron restaurant were uncovered as part of an unannounced but routine inspection undertaken by officers from Mid Suffolk District Council (MDSC), who turned up at the premises in September 2012.

They found that the restaurant was lacking a proper food safety management system, that the premises were dirty and that there was a lack of hand-washing facilities. Staff had not undergone the correct food hygiene training, nor were they given the right protective clothing to wear.

After initially claiming that the problems with food hygiene were caused by staff not doing what they were told, the restaurant owner and spokesperson for parent company Nazmin Ltd, Ibrahim Ali, pleaded guilty to a total of six food hygiene offences. The company was fined £2,500 for each offence, meaning a total fine of £15,000 was imposed. Nazmin Ltd also had to pay court costs of £1,838, along with a small victim surcharge.

The council’s Corporate Manager for Food and Safety, John Grayling, said:

“It is always disappointing when a food business ends up in Court, but in Babergh and Mid Suffolk, food officers work hard to ensure all food businesses are compliant, and will take action when continued failings are found.”